Article

A Comparative Study of World’s Truth Commissions —From Madness to Hope

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the author.

Abstract

em>The objective of this paper is to explore the initiatives and practices of different countries in truth seeking. Many countries during the post-conflict, colonial, slavery, anarchical and cultural genocide periods establish the Truth Commissions to respond to the past human wrongdoings: crimes and crimes against humanity. Enforced Disappearances (ED), killings, rapes and inhumane tortures are wrongdoings. Truth Commission applies the method of recovering silences from the victims for structured testimonies. The paper is prepared based on the victim-centric approach. The purpose reveals the piecemeal fact-findings to heal the past, reconcile the present and protect the future. The study covers more than 50 Commissions in a chronological order: beginning from Uganda in 1974 and concluding to Nepal in February 2015. Two Commissions in Uruguay were formed to find-out enforced disappearances. Colombian and Rwandan Commissions have established permanent bodies. The Liberian TRC threatened the government to submit its findings to the ICC if the government failed to establish an international tribunal. The Commissions of Bolivia, Ecuador, Haiti, former Yugoslavia and Zimbabwe were disbanded, and consequently, their reports could not be produced. No public hearings were conducted in Argentina and former Yugoslavia. It is noted that only 8 public hearings in Ghana, 8 national hearings in East-Timor and 15 in Brazil were conducted. Moroccan Commission held public hearings after signing the bond paper for not to disclose the names of the perpetrators whereas Guatemala did not include the perpetrators’ names in the report. The Shining Path’s activists are serving sentences based on civil-anti-terrorist court, but Alberto Fujimori is convicted for 25 years. Chadian Commission worked even against illicit narcotics trafficking. The UN established its Commissions in Sierra Leon, El Salvador and East-Timor, but failed to restore normalcy in Kosovo. Haiti prosecuted 50 perpetrators whereas Guatemala prosecuted its former military dictator. The Philippines’ Commission had limited investigation jurisdiction over army, but treated the insurgents differently. In El Salvador, the State security forces were responsible for 85 percent and the non-state actors for 15 percent similar to CIEDP, Nepal. The TRCs of Argentina, East-Timor, Guatemala, Morocco, Peru and South Africa partially succeeded. Large numbers of victims have failed to register the complaints fearing of possible actions. All perpetrators were controversially granted amnesty despite the TRC recommendation in South Africa. The victims and people still blamed Mandela that he sold out black people’s struggle. Ironically, the perpetrators have received justice, but the victims are further victimized. As perpetrator-centric Government prioritizes cronyism, most of the Commissioners defend their respective institution and individuals. Besides, perpetrators influence Governments on the formation of Truth Commission for ‘forgetting the victims to forgive the perpetrators’. A commission is a Court-liked judicial and non-judicial processes body, but without binding authority except Sierra Leone. Transitional Justice body exists with a five-pillar policy: truth, justice, healing, prosecution and reparation. It has a long neglected history owing to anarchical roles of the perpetrators and weak-poor nature of the victims. Almost all TRCs worked in low budget, lack of officials, inadequate laws and regulations, insufficient infrastructures and constraints of moral supports including Liberia, Paraguay, Philippines, South Africa, Uganda and Nepal. The perpetrators controlled Governments ordered to destroy documents, evidences and testimonies in their chain of command that could have proven guilty to them.</em

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.

... A critical review of the existing literature shows that much of the extant global literature has paid attention to TRCs in general (see Hayner, 2011;Hirsch et al., 2012) without much focus on the role of the commissioners in the efficacy of commissions in countries that have established TRCs. As to the contemporary, there exist a number of comparative studies on TRCs (see Pathak, 2017;Wiebelhaus-Brahm, 2010), though they do not critically assess the role of the commissioners in facilitating and fulfilling the mandate of the commissions in post-conflict contexts. What has been at the centre of discussion is why TRCs are formed. ...
Article
Scholars have long been interested in understanding the functions and efficacy of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) in promoting post-conflict justice and reconciliation, particularly in countries emerging from violent conflict. However, less well understood is how issues of autonomy and independence of commissioners condition the efficacy of TRCs. In joining this debate, I contend that how and why certain people are selected to be commissioners of TRCs has an impact on the legitimacy and success or lack thereof of such bodies. The article unpicks how and why the social status of the commissioners, their level of professionalism, independence and their political leanings (neutrality) impact on the integrity, efficacy and legitimacy of TRCs. Drawing on the Zimbabwean case study, I show how loyalty, past and current allegiance, selection criteria (methods) or appointment and conduct of commissioners shape the efficacy of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC). Such an investigation is relevant in contributing to a deeper understanding of the inner workings and legitimacy of TRCs in Africa and beyond as they seek to promote justice and reconciliation in post-conflict contexts.
... As for the international humanitarian law the Basic Principles and Guidelines in its Preamble refers to the Art. 3 Article 8 of the Rome Statute gives the meaning of "war crimes" defining them as serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict or in an armed conflict not of an international character. Further, war crimes meaning "grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, namely, any of the following acts against persons or property protected under the provisions of the relevant Geneva Convention" are: wilful killing; torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments; wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health; extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power; wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial; unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement; taking of hostages. ...
Article
Full-text available
INTRODUCTION . The research analyzes the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law (Basic Principles and Guidelines) of December 16, 2005. The Article examines the stages of the adoption of this document, the concept, structure, basic provisions, as well as the importance for the development of modern international law, particularly in the field of human rights protection and international humanitarian law. Consequently, the Article provides a detailed analysis of the approach to the central subject of this document, that is, the right to a remedy and reparation, which is expressed in practical application by universal and regional bodies on human rights and in the field of humanitarian law. In this regard, the position of the right to a remedy and reparation in the complex of human rights is determined, as well as their interconnection and relation to each other. MATERIALS AND METHODS . The theoretical researches of the Russian and foreign experts in the field of international law have been analyzed in this very Article as well as the normative documents, recommendations, and decisions of the treaty bodies on human rights within the UN system, the law enforcement practice of universal and regional judicial and quasi-judicial bodies for the protection of human rights and in the field of international humanitarian law have also been studied. Such methods of scientific cognition as analysis and synthesis, the generalization method, the system-structural method, as well as the historical-legal and legal-technical methods have also been applied in this research. RESEARCH RESULTS . The Article reveals the significance and impact of the mechanism developed in the Basic Principles and Guidelines, in general, on the international human rights system. The Basic Principles and Guidelines are an international document, developed with the best practice of existing legal systems. It was adopted unanimously through the consensus reached by all parties concerned. The Basic Principles and Guidelines are aimed at codifying the provisions on the right to a remedy and reparation enshrined in various international treaties and as well as at developing a unified approach to these rights. Thus, the said international instrument does not create any new rules but classifies and uniforms the set of provisions on the right to a remedy and reparation. This nature of the Basic Principles and Guidelines makes them an attractive tool for international bodies in their law enforcement practice related to ensuring the right to a remedy and reparation. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSSIONS . The Basic Principles and Guidelines enshrine the responsibility of States in the field of human rights protection, when the second party to the conflict is individual, or individuals whose rights have been or may be violated. Therefore, the Basic Principles are focused on the interests of the victim of a violation of human rights, that is, they are deliberately humanistic and human rights oriented. The document provides a classification of victims to more adequately cover human rights mechanisms that ensure the protection of persons, individually or collectively. Further, it pays special attention to the protection of victims of gross violations of human rights. In addition, the Basic Principles and Guidelines list and describe forms of reparation for the victims of human rights violations.
Article
The objectives of the paper are to investigate the axiomatic truth and record the human wrongdoings of the past, deliver justice to the victims at present, make perpetrators accountable and initiate generous change in the rule of law for prosperous, peaceful and harmonious nation. The state-of-the-art paper is prepared based upon literature review, exchanging and sharing, and a practical observation approach rather than theoretical-analytical conception, except Generation. An interdisciplinary (politico-legal) word, ‘Transitional Justice’ (TJ) is healing the violations and/or abuses of yesterday, investigating and reconciling today and hoping to protect the tomorrow for not only a few privileged, but for the people of all Generations. The Generation tends to ascertain cause, nature, degree and patterns of identity-based crimes and genocide, determine the role of perpetrators and analyze the impact of the Truth Commission. Generally, Generation refers to the biological age groupings (20 to 30 years) that live together and share similar characteristics – attitudes, behaviors, contexts, sufferings and cultures. The paper reviews over 90 TJ countries in Five Generations (I, II, III, IV and 0), starting from the post-World War II to the present day world. Generation-I presents a genesis of TJ, a notion changed from the holocaust to the retributive justice which comprises the analyses of Nuremberg Trial and Tokyo Tribunal. Rather than making the main perpetrators involved in World War (WW) II accountable, the Nuremberg Trial has been a holier-than-thou betrayal to the Germans by a pseudo trial, and immunity to ‘French, Soviet Union, Americans, British and Japanese Emperor’ and Geneva Convention violators owing to a high political masquerading and retribution. Generation-II reveals a notion changed from internecine war crimes to humanitarian justice. It compares and contrasts the functions of the Truth Commissions that have a direct structural link with perpetrators’ four Ds (viz. delay, deceive, deny and dilute) approaches of TJ. Beyond domestication, TJ is an international human rights law, international criminal law and international humanitarian law. TJ has been more political in nature and less legal in practice. Generation-III tends to a notion changed from domestic criminal jurisprudence to international tribunal justice. The western developed and non-signatory nations of the Rome Statute try hard to establish and control the International Criminal Court (ICC) to their bad relation with post-conflict countries. Generation-IV discloses a notion changed from sectarian violence to reconcile justice. In such cases, non-state elite actors normally engage against the weak and poor people to prove their superiority conducting communal apartheid and cultural genocide. Lastly, Generation-0 (Zero) refers to a notion changed for justice establishing the Truth Commission. Truth Commissions have been unable to identify and investigate the human rights violations and/or abuses in the post-conflict periods, despite huge national and international pressures. Generally, what for transitional justice: victor (perpetrator) or loser (victim and or survivor)? The answer is: ‘world’s Transitional Justice ironically ensures freedom to the perpetrators further limiting justice to the poor and weak victims and society at large’ in all Generations. On the other, the universe moves towards the identity-based multi-polar new world order setting owing to innumerable interests and practices of the Transitional Justice system.
Chapter
Full-text available
Co-authored with Vasuki Nesiah
Article
Full-text available
Certain truth and reconciliation processes around the world remain understudied. This means that valuable lessons for transitional justice processes elsewhere are not learned. This article therefore examines lessons from the Togolese Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission (CVJR). It examines the historical context of violence in Togo in order to understand why the country decided to establish a truth commission and looks at how previous inquiries established the need for such a process. Other issues examined are the CVJR's mandate, the time period provided to do its work, and the pros and cons of the choices made with respect to these matters. The article looks at the powers of the CVJR, its recommendations, and examines issues related to truth recovery, victims' needs, and the Commission's ability to combat impunity. Finally, the Commission's effectiveness and legacy for the country are assessed. The article argues that for an under-resourced process the commission performed well in some areas but not so well in other areas. It is argued that it was a useful process in some respects, but that more could have been done had the process optimally worked. The article provides lessons that can be ascertained from the Togolese process.
Article
Full-text available
Truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs) as transitional justice and conflict resolution mechanisms, have gained international prominence, especially following South Africa’s much publicised TRC experience. Among other things, TRCs are expected to contribute to democratic consolidation by correcting the historical narrative, acknowledging past human rights violations and fostering a human rights culture in nascent democracies. This was the spirit in which Ghana’s National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) executed its mandate from 2002 to 2004. However, a decade after the commission issued its final report, this article reflects on the failure of the Ghanaian state to disseminate the report. It is argued that the failure to disseminate the NRC Report could jeopardise the commission’s potential contributions to sustainable reconciliation, human rights and democracy in Ghana. This article accounts for the failure to disseminate the report, and makes corrective recommendations as well as suggestions for future research.
Article
Full-text available
This article analyzes the efforts of organized indigenous peoples to exercise their own forms of law and justice within the context of social violence and impunity that characterizes postwar Guatemala. Through an ethnographic exploration of alternative justice practices in the region of Santa Cruz del Quiché, it aims to contribute to discussions around the ‘anthropology of the state’. Specifically, the article describes some of the different phenomena or social forces that compete to exercise sovereignty in the region and reflects on what these reveal about the nature of the contemporary state in Guatemala.
Article
Full-text available
This article uses an ethnographic description of a provincial public hearing in Sierra Leone to explore the paradoxical fact that in truth commissions, the truth is seldom told. It argues that the truth was not told for a variety of reasons, some of which are related to the special circumstances of the District, some to the problematic relationship of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with the Special Court, some to organizational infirmities of the TRC itself, and some to the fact that public truth-telling lacks deep roots in the local cultures of Sierra Leone. By contrast, a staged ceremony of repentance and forgiveness on the final day struck resonant chords with the participants and succeeded in forging a reconciliatory moment. The implication, argues the article, is that in certain circumstances ritual may be more important to reconciliation than truth.
Article
Full-text available
As nations struggling to heal wounds of civil war and atrocity turn toward the model of reconciliation, Reconciliation in Divided Societies takes a systematic look at the political dimensions of this international phenomenon. . . . The book shows us how this transformation happens so that we can all gain a better understanding of how, and why, reconciliation really works. It is an almost indispensable tool for those who want to engage in reconciliation from the foreword by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. As societies emerge from oppression, war, or genocide, their most important task is to create a civil society strong and stable enough to support democratic governance. More and more conflict-torn countries throughout the world are promoting reconciliation as central to their new social order as they move toward peace and stability. Scores of truth and reconciliation commissions are helping bring people together and heal the wounds of deeply divided societies. Since the South African transition, countries as diverse as Timor Leste, Sierra Leone, Fiji, Morocco, and Peru, among others, have placed reconciliation at the center of their reconstruction and development programs. Other efforts to promote reconciliation including trials and governmental programs are also becoming more prominent in transitional times. But until now there has been no real effort to understand exactly what reconciliation could mean in these different situations. What does true reconciliation entail? How it can be achieved? How can its achievement be assessed? This book digs beneath the surface to answer these questions and explain what the concepts of truth, justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation really involve in societies that are recovering from internecine strife. Looking to the future as much as to the past, Erin Daly and Jeremy Sarkin maintain that reconciliation requires fundamental political and economic reform along with personal healing if it is to be effective in establishing lasting peace and stability. Reconciliation, they argue, is best thought of as a means for transformation. It is the engine that enables victims to become survivors and divided societies to transform themselves into communities where people work together to raise children and live productive, hopeful lives. Reconciliation in Divided Societies shows us how this transformation happens so that we can all gain a better understanding of how, and why, reconciliation actually works.
Article
p> Enforced D isappearance (ED) is a crime against humanity. It has been a long, but neglected history. It is a denial of all access to the families, lawyers and the like. The families of ED persons recall the whereabouts the fate of their loved ones dawn to dusk. A total of 54 post-countries have experienced having Truth Commissions. Such Commissions identify, investigate and reveal the past wrongdoings hoping to resolve crises. Out of these, 15 Truth Commissions were or are formed focusing more on ED persons to provide justice to the families of the victims and to end impunity prosecuting the (alleged) perpetrators. Ironically, the (alleged) perpetrators have received justice, but families of victims are further victimized. The paper is prepared based on the victim-centric approach following the human security theories: Freedom to Perpetrator, Freedom of Perpetrator-Victim, and Freedom at Victim. The Freedom to Perpetrator includes Algeria, Colombia, East-Timor, El Salvador, Jambu-Kashmir, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Uruguay; Freedom of Perpetrator-Victim comprises Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru; and Freedom at Victim consists of Nepal. Besides, amnesty and reconciliation measures were studied to analyze the failed, moderated and successful Truth Commissions. Nepal’s disappearance Commission has neither amnesty nor reconciliation provision. </p
Chapter
This chapter examines the unique contributions made by youth participants at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in the Solomon Islands. In doing so, it challenges the rigid victim/perpetrator binaries traditionally employed to describe young people’s participation in transitional justice. These identity descriptors become problematic when they fail to account for the realities of youth’s conflict experiences. This chapter argues that youth are political actors with the capacity to contribute to transitional justice in diverse and surprising ways. It suggests that understanding their interests and motivations, distinct from children, provides a more holistic and inclusive narrative of youth in transitional contexts. In the Solomon Islands, the inclusion of youth hearings at the TRC provided young people with a forum to construct their justice narrative, distinct from children. Yet, the Final Report’s chapter on children held steadfast to the rigid victim/perpetrator classifications. This chapter draws on the language used by different stakeholders at the TRC to highlight the complexities associated with creating a holistic narrative of youth participation. With this in mind, it examines the challenges associated with the emergence of competing conflict narratives, specifically, the stories told about youth and those by youth.
Chapter
Few issues of transitional justice are as highly charged as those surrounding the relationship between forgiveness, amnesty and justice, particularly where human rights violations have occurred. This has especially been the case where truth and reconciliation commissions have been concerned. This chapter examines the place of forgiveness and amnesty in the transitional justice processes of the Solomon Islands. It argues that like other cases of transitional justice that have gone before it, the Solomon Islands finds itself engaged in a precarious balancing act between the often competing demands of inter-personal and societal forgiveness processes. It demonstrates, on the one hand, that the idea that societal reconciliation is not possible without state-level forgiveness in the form of amnesties remains pervasive among some members of the Solomon Islands community including, unsurprisingly, many ex-combatants who hope to benefit from proposed amnesty laws. Yet, on the other hand, it also argues that unlike some other TRCs that have gone before it, the Solomon Islands TRC marks a turn away from the sort of overt, state-sanctioned, institutionally led forgiveness practices that drew sustained criticism in previous cases (such as those of El Salvador and South Africa). In particular, the Solomon Islands TRC has set itself apart from the South African model on which it was based by explicitly opposing amnesties for ex-combatants and for arguing that without justice, forgiveness alone is unlikely to achieve reconciliation for the Solomon Islands.
Article
Several initiatives to create a national Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) for Bosnia and Herzegovina were launched between 1997 and 2006, but none came to fruition. This article explains the rationale behind the pursuit of a truth-telling mechanism alongside the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as well as the resistance to such initiatives both internationally and domestically. It argues that, despite the considerable efforts of external actors to create a TRC for Bosnia, the project foundered for three principal reasons: political resistance, institutional rivalry between the ICTY and the TRC project, and the TRC project's lack of legitimacy, notably among Bosnia's victim associations. The history of the failed TRC project in Bosnia holds important lessons for ongoing truth-seeking attempts in the region and beyond, and highlights problems that arise in postconflict societies with a high level of international involvement.
Article
A study report commissioned by: The Academy for Educational Development (AED) Dilli Bazar Kathmandu Nepal This report is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Local Peace Committee (LPC) is a generic name for committees or other structures formed at the level of a district, municipality, town or village with the aim to encourage and facilitate joint, inclusive peacemaking and peacebuilding processes within its own context. LPCs are either implemented as part of a national peace process, or by civil society organizations in contexts of debilitating conflict. The study report was aimed at filling a void regarding comparative research in this field and has the objective to identify key lessons learned and areas for further investigation. It has been stimulated by AED's efforts to support the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction in Nepal in conceptualizing and implementing LPCs in that country. Thirteen widely divergent contexts where LPCs were implemented have been considered in compiling this report (see Appendix 1). The rationale for implementing LPCs was obviously context specific. In general, though, LPCs have been implemented to secure peace at local level as part of a national peace process; or because specific conditions at local level made a local peace process necessary. Using the case of Nepal as a specific example, the rationale for implementing LPCs was that insufficient attention to the need to secure peace at local level would be a threat to the sustainability of the national peace process. The deep-rooted nature of conflict at local level, the psychological effects of violence and neglect on local communities where protagonists had to continue co-existing, the prospect of intense political competition in the context of a fragile peace, and the dynamics and inherent instability of transition periods provided sufficient reasons for considering the implementation of LPCs.
Article
In countries emerging from periods of great political turmoil, particularly turmoil associated with gross violations of human rights, the question of how to deal with the past has been a crucial part of the transformation process. The issue is: how does a society return to any sort of normality when two neighbors living side by side are, respectively, victim and perpetrator of heinous crimes? Perhaps nowhere else in the world is this question more vital or more difficult than in Rwanda, the small, poor, rural, inland African state that became the site of one of the bloodiest genocides ever known. This article advocates the establishment of a commission in Rwanda as a means of beginning reconciliation and rebuilding a unified country. Although Rwanda presents many daunting challenges for a truth and reconciliation commission, or any other process that would promote unification and tolerance, it is appropriate for a number of reasons. Firstly, the ongoing animosity and retributive violence between the current and former governments and their respective followers is evidence that the status quo is not working. Secondly, the Rwandan Government is not equipped to channel all responsible parties through the traditional legal system. Finally, a properly constituted commission would generate public awareness of what really happened.
Article
In the period after civil war or mass atrocity, trials and truth commissions have been used in a growing number of societies to try to bring about social repair and acknowledgement. Unfortunately, they often fail. The Haitian commission nationale de vérité et de justice sought to identify instigators, criminals, and accessories to the serious human rights violations and the crimes against humanity that had been carried out during the coup d'état, from September 29, 1991 to October 15, 1994, both inside and outside of the country. However, the Commission was beset by a number of problems that resulted in its ultimate failure to achieve goals including acknowledgement and reconciliation. This article considers those failures, and the lessons that can be learned from its experiences.
Article
Enforced disappearance as a crime under international law has a long and neglected history. In this Note I argue that the criminal prohibition of disappearance is rooted in the laws of war, rather than in late-twentieth-century human rights law. By analyzing the judgments of the Nuremberg Tribunals, I show that the conduct underlying enforced disappearance carried individual criminal liability at the time of the Second World War, both as a war crime and as a crime against humanity. I trace the origins of the prohibition to the protection of the family by the nineteenth-century laws of war. By using the prosecution of enforced disappearance in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a case study, I show the practical relevance of enforced disappearance’s grounding in the laws of war.
Article
1This article examines the contributions to transitional justice made by the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP) in Argentina; a commission established in December 1983 by then constitutional president, Raúl Alfonsín, to investigate the fate of the disappeared. In particular, the article analyzes how CONADEP's inquiry simultaneously served the functions of creating a new public truth about the crimes – which were based on secrecy, the destruction of evidence and concealment by the state – and of collecting essential legal evidence necessary for the prosecution of perpetrators. Finally, it explains the success of the inquiry, which was a result of the combined efforts of Alfonsín's democratic administration and the Argentinian human rights movement.
Article
In recent years, Latin American countries have sought to come to terms with prior periods of widespread human rights violations, relying increasingly on investigatory commissions. Investigatory efforts have been undertaken by democratically elected governments that replaced military dictatorships, by UN-sponsored commissions as part of a UN-mediated peace process, and by national human rights commissioners. This article examines truth commissions in Chile and El Salvador, an investigatory effort in Honduras, and a proposed commission in Guatemala. It compares the achievements and limitations of these commissions within the political constraints and institutional reality of each country, focusing on four major goals: the effort to create an authoritative account of the past; vindication of victims; recommendations for legislative, structural, or other changes to avoid repetition of past abuses; and establishing accountability or the identity of perpetrators.
Article
Following its transition to democracy from an authoritarian military rule marked by gross violations of human rights, Nigeria established the Human Rights Violations Investigations Commission (HRVIC) in 1999. This paper critically examines the contributions of the HRVIC, popularly known as the ‘Oputa Panel,’ to the field of transitional justice and the rule of law. It sets out the process of establishing the Commission, its mandate and how this mandate was interpreted during the course of the Commission's work. The challenges faced by the Oputa Panel, particularly those that relate to its legal status and relationship with the judiciary, are analyzed in an attempt to draw useful guidelines from these challenges for other truth commissions. Recourse by powerful individuals to the judicial process in a bid to shield themselves from the HRVIC merits particular review as it raises questions regarding the transformation of the judiciary and the rule of law in the wake of an authoritarian regime.
Article
This paper is published under the creative commons license. The Tasmanian State Government and the Australian Federal Senate have taken recent steps towards setting up a Reparations Tribunal for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people who were separated from their families and communities under State-based forced removal policies of the 20th Century. This paper proposes a Truth and Reconciliation Commission drawing on international lessons.
Final Report of the National Truth Commission: Wha now, Brazil? CONECTA
  • R Custódio
Custódio, R. (2015, April 27). Final Report of the National Truth Commission: Wha now, Brazil? CONECTA.
Truth Commissions: An Uncertain Paths
  • C G Czitrom
Czitrom, C. G. (2002, January). Truth Commissions: An Uncertain Paths. CODEPU-Chile and APT-Switzerland.
ToR of the Local Peace Committee
  • S Dhungel
Dhungel, S. (Undated). ToR of the Local Peace Committee. Kathmandu: Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction.
Togo still waiting for democratic transition
  • M Domegni
Domegni, M. (2016, July 31). Togo still waiting for democratic transition. Justice Info Net.
Analysis: The UN in Kosovo-success or failure? EU reporter world
  • V V Doninck
Doninck, V. V. (2015, April 17). Analysis: The UN in Kosovo-success or failure? EU reporter world.
El Salvador to establish a National Commission for the Search of Disappeared Persons during the Armed Conflict
  • Dplf
DPLF. (2017, February 6). El Salvador to establish a National Commission for the Search of Disappeared Persons during the Armed Conflict. Retrieved May 16, 2017, from http://www.dplf.org/en/news/el-salvador-establish-national-commission-search-disappeared-perso ns-during-armed-conflict
Creating the Presidential Committee on Human Rights
Executive Order No. 8. (1986, March 18). Creating the Presidential Committee on Human Rights. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/wjssr World Journal of Social Science Research Vol. 4, No. 3, 2017
Chad's Torture Victims Pursue Habre in Court
  • D Farah
Farah, D. (2000, November 27). Chad's Torture Victims Pursue Habre in Court. The Washington Post.
Truth Commission in Brazil: Individualizing Amnesty, Revealing the Truth
  • P Filho
Filho, P. (2012, February). Truth Commission in Brazil: Individualizing Amnesty, Revealing the Truth. Yale Review of International Studies.
Peacebuilding and Civil Society in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Ten Years after Dayton. Berghof Foundation of Conflict Studies
  • M Fischer
Fischer, M. (Ed., 2007). Peacebuilding and Civil Society in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Ten Years after Dayton. Berghof Foundation of Conflict Studies.
Encyclopedia of Human Rights
  • D P Forsythe
Forsythe, D. P. (Ed., 2009). Encyclopedia of Human Rights, 5. Oxford University Press.
Serbia and Montenegro: Selected Development in Transitional Justice
  • M Freeman
Freeman, M. (2004, October). Serbia and Montenegro: Selected Development in Transitional Justice. International Center for Transitional Justice.
The State of the World-by Peace Journalism
  • J Galtung
Galtung, J. (2016). The State of the World-by Peace Journalism. TRANSCEND Peace University.
Drafting a Truth Commission Mandate: A Practical Tool
  • E González
González, E. (2013, June). Drafting a Truth Commission Mandate: A Practical Tool. International Center for Transitional Justice.
The Handbook of Reparations
  • P De Greiff
Greiff, P. de. (2006). The Handbook of Reparations. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/0199291926.001.0001
General Alfredo Stroessner-Dictator who mastered the fixing of elections and made Paraguay a smugglers' paradise. The Guardian
  • P Gunson
Gunson, P. (2006, August 17). General Alfredo Stroessner-Dictator who mastered the fixing of elections and made Paraguay a smugglers' paradise. The Guardian.
Seoul probes civilian `massacres' by US
  • C J Hanley
  • J.-S Chang
Hanley, C. J., & Chang, J.-S. (2008, August 3). Seoul probes civilian `massacres' by US. New York: Associated Press.
Unspeakable Truths: Facing the Challenges of Truth Commissions
  • P Hayner
Hayner, P. (2001). Unspeakable Truths: Facing the Challenges of Truth Commissions. New York: Routledge.
Unspeakable truths, Transitional Justice and the Challenge of Truth Commissions
  • P Hayner
Hayner, P. (2011). Unspeakable truths, Transitional Justice and the Challenge of Truth Commissions. New York: Routledge.
Ecuador Launches Truth Commission to Investigate Past Rights Abuses
  • B Hibbitts
Hibbitts, B. (2007, May 6). Ecuador Launches Truth Commission to Investigate Past Rights Abuses. Jurist.
Bolivia: Almost Nine Years and Still No Verdict in the
Human Rights Watch. (1992, December). Bolivia: Almost Nine Years and Still No Verdict in the "Trials of Responsibility. Washington.
Germany for Germans": Xenophobia and Racist Violence in
Human Rights Watch. (1995, April). "Germany for Germans": Xenophobia and Racist Violence in Germany. USA.
Sierra Leone Rebels Forcefully Recruit Child Soldiers
Human Rights Watch. (2000). Sierra Leone Rebels Forcefully Recruit Child Soldiers. New York: Human Rights Watch.
Morocco's Truth Commission: Honoring Past Victims during an Uncertain Present
Human Rights Watch. (2005, November). Morocco's Truth Commission: Honoring Past Victims during an Uncertain Present (Vol. 17, No. 11(E)).
Sierra Leone, UN Human Rights Council
  • Ictj
ICTJ. (2010). Sierra Leone, UN Human Rights Council. New York: International Center for Transitional Justice.
Revolutionary Truth: Tunisian Victims Make History of First Night on Public Hearings for TDC
  • Ictj
ICTJ. (2016, November 17). Revolutionary Truth: Tunisian Victims Make History of First Night on Public Hearings for TDC. New York.